Here's a nice and short video on what makes the B5 Audi RS4 so special. It glosses over some small stuff and is very much a tribute piece by a guy who loves his car. I'm just jealous that he gets to own one, while here in the states, it's a complicated and expensive matter to get one imported.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD7ubYyY19I

I finished the job! The 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon now has hood pins. The fun part of this for me, besides being amusing, is that I had to fabricate brackets for the hood pins to attach to. This let me try my hand at a few skills that I don't often utilize, and work with some metal a bit. Meanwhile, the hood pins provided a safe and cost effective solution for my broken hood latch tabs.

Today, while battling mold (https://wheelwell.com/posts/6jd0/mold.), I also worked on reducing the number of squeaks and rattles my wagon makes after all of those miles it's traveled. I used something akin to dynamat to dampen rattles and reduce boom from panels. You don't need to coat the whole panel, just key areas in order to dampen the vibrations, which reduces the noise from the panel. I also use felt tape between panels, hidden of course, in order to prevent

I've lived mostly in Connecticut and Oregon, and while cars may rust in Connecticut, you do not park a car for a week and come back to a thin coat of mold on numerous surfaces inside your car in Connecticut, during the winter. So why is there water in my car? Well it starts with the car being 23 years old and having almost 200k miles. But the real reason is that I have the misfortune of rear hatch

It's forcing me to get a number of small projects done with the car and I have located the cause of the leak and have attempted a repair, so it will be good in the end. The car is getting a full interior detail, broken panels replaced, conditioning of leather, and some other sound deadening and rattle elimination tricks I've picked up over the years. It will be nicer than it has been in years when I am done tomorrow.

In case you guys haven't noticed, I like ridiculous cars. I don't necessarily want all of them, (just many many of them) but I usually appreciate them regardless. I've always thought the original dodge Viper was a silly car; it's proportions are cartoonish, it's development, while effective, was rather unconventional, as was using a giant V10 truck engine for power. Then Dodge went and gave it a super American name, that every kid of the 90s probably thought was

Great and entertaining read. I loved the viper - my dad's friend had one, and I always enjoyed riding in it. My biggest complaint towards them - is the power. No one needs that much power in such a lightweight car. Its basically just a deathtrap. It was nice to see them bring it back only to stop production once again. Hopefully dogs can do it one more time the right way.

Thanks Brian! I really appreciate the compliment! And I agree with you on both points. Deathtrap that the Viper might be, it's still true that being in a deathtrap is also exciting, and kind of fun. And I have high hopes for the Sergione Marchione lead Dodge team to be able to come up with something compelling, and probably in a new but still very exciting way. Fortunately or unfortunately, the excitement will likely no longer come from a deathtrap feature.

Oh dear god that is obscene. The first gen Viper has always been regarded as a car that is constantly trying to kill you. I can only imagine how bad it is with 300 more horsepower over stock. That being said: where can I see this car to go for a ride in it? lol. That is freaking awesome though

Current bid is $30k with about an hour to go. That would be a steal for that thing. Someone is going to be very happy right up until the point they wrap it around a tree. It looks pretty well done and less than 11k miles on it too.

Surely this is an exercise in nonsense, I have no place for a bus, I have no use for a bus, but I kind of wish that I did.
I mean, just look at this thing! Those rear dishes are huge! Okay, maybe that's not why I like it. It's got a lot of character and old world craftsmanship on display is why I like it. But what could I do with it? The previous owner toured Europe in

I liked this build because it is different, and I agree with the people at Bring A Trailer, it would be cool to see this car running with the usually ubiquitous old German cars at a track day. The exact year is not listed but is also kind of irrelevant. This XJS is still a street legal build, using an inline Jaguar 6 cylinder, with individual throttle bodies, a hot cam, and other modifications to deliver over 300

I strategically park all over the place. I avoid certain types of vehicles and being near shopping carts. I will park far away. I will park next to a nice car out of hope they will be more careful of my car as I am of their's. But, I would not buy two cars, that I had no intent of driving, to serve as driveway sentries because either my vehicle is too big for my driveway, or I am

This is just crazy - so he basically spent almost 10k$ on two used cars just to keep people away from parking by the driveway. I mean good for him to be able to just piss money away; but seriously. Some people in this world just crack me up HAHA!

Here we have a fantastic new variant of an already fast wagon, that is once again being denied to the rest of the world by the Germans. Audi says they will make 150 examples of the Nogaro Edition RS6, German market only. The car has an option of being tuned by ABT after purchase and that brings it up to just shy of 700 HP and 650 lb-ft of torque. Nogaro blue is a nostalfgia color for AUdi

I got all setup to make the steal mounts for my hood pins so that I don't ruin my composite radiator support, my hood, or my windshield. Here's my previous post with some picture of what I am working around: https://wheelwell.com/posts/6h2m/hoodpins-for-the-volvo-wagon
Today's goal was to verify that my idea for a bracket that can support a hood pin would work, and to get everything mocked up for fabricating the brackets. Above is one of the hood latches that I removed

The tabs that insert into the hood latches broke on the hood of one of my Volvo wagons, so I decided that I would fix it with hood pins. You can see the slot where there should be a hook, but there is no hook. If you look in the opposite corner, you will see a hook, but it's just flopping around in there. To get around this, my hood had been secured with a ratchet strap, but

I love these cars. I've tried to buy one on multiple occasions. Eventually, my ex-wife had to sit me down and be clear that "no" she was not going to drive around in the Mercedes I wanted. Other cars, yes, but not this Mercedes. She was and is right about many things, but this is not one of them.
Mercedes 190E 2.3-16s are fantastic! but don't take my word for it! Here's a link to an article, not an auction,

I enjoy fast wagons. I own one myself, although its not that fast by todays standards, and European manufacturers refusing to send fast wagons to the states is one of my biggest auto industry gripes. Well, here's another one we never got! So what is it? This is a Lancia Thema 8.32. What does that mean you say? Well, it means that this is a factory Ferrari 2.9L V8 powered station wagon, with optional third row seat. To make

I'm not a truck guy, but trucks are a necessary for any number of jobs. What I don't understand is, what happened to trucks?
Here we have a 1968 Chevy C10, a full size pickup, just not by modern standards. Today, a Tacoma is a larger truck, but doesn't really have a larger bed. The bed is kind of the most important part of a truck, that and payload, tow capacity, and tongue weight. Bed sizes haven't changed too

I came across this car on Bring A Trailer today and thought I would share because, well, I've never seen it before and I like it. I mostly like it because we already know that it's a good car, it's basically a tuned BMW M6, but I think it's better looking. They made a prototype and then were supposed to make 150 more cars but instead just made this one, and here it is! The front of the car

Fisker always makes amazing profile views, great rear ends but he doesnt know how to put together a concise front end! Wither the hoodlines are strange the grill takes over or it has strange headlight placement. I think this front end is no different, definitely a case of backyard BBQ grill going on, otherwise it's a cool car! The front end would prob grow on you just by owning it.

I bet that you do like some of his designs, he was at BMW for years during the 1990s, and he also designed some Aston Martin's in the early 2000s. There are some good looking cars in there for sure! Even if you don't like this one.

Once you pointed out that it was a re-tooled M6, I couldn't unsee it. Still, not a bad looking car. I have a friend that used to work for Fisker. A few times, when they needed to rack up some test miles and get feedback on the Karma, they'd let her drive one around for the afternoon. She stopped by with it once and I got a good look at it and snapped some pics. I remember there being a lot of hype around Fisker when they first hit the scene, with celebrities lining up to buy them.

That's really cool! I like the Karma but I think that Fisker made a bad engine choice for their market with the Karma, I believe it was a GM turbo 4 charging the batteries, in a upscale, very stylish, large luxury sedan, made with exotic eco friendly materials. Other than that, I think that car was mostly a victim of the financial collapse. The Karma was released as a car and Fisker as a stand alone brand just prior to that incident.

I've been working bit by bit on bringing my 1994 Audi Cabriolet back up to snuff. It's in really nice shape but it does need a little TLC. Lately I have been working on deep cleaning it's beige carpets, removing the dull colored UV damage to vinyl surfaces, conditioning some leather, and repairing a speaker and some seat guides. I needed to remove the passenger's side front seat in order to repair the seat guides. I knew that

So the main tool you used for the carpets was just a basic brush and a wet/dry vacuum? I was always always under the impression that I needed a carpet shampooer to get good results on the cars floor. If that's all that it takes I'm going to have to give that a go. All of my floors are in serious need of a good cleaning.

That is a bit of why I wrote this up. The shampooer saves a lot of time but you can repeatedly apply small amounts of water and then remove it with a shop vac. When things start to get clean I switch over to a damp microfiber towel and then rinse it frequently. Honestly, it's taken me well over an hour to get things clean this way. You scrub and rinse until the towel mostly rinses clear, I think I spent about 2 hours on the Cabriolet's carpets total but I don't think anyone has gotten really in there like this in years.

Also, I use a number of brushes. I have a scrub brush for big areas, a 1.5" paint brush cut at an angle for getting into crevices, a 2" short bristle brush that I use for the areas that the scrub brush is to big for, etc. I buy my brushes cheap at harbor freight and then hack them up to do what I want.

Haha... At one point I was cleaning an area in the cabriolet and it totally started to smell like coffee all of the sudden!

Just don't over do it with the water and make sure you know a bit about your insulation below your carpet. I wouldn't put water into a car with think foam under carpet padding, but it appears they figured the carpets in the cabriolet may get wet so there wasn't anything under there that would act like a sponge. Also, my garage is heated so there's some extra safety in that it will be sitting in there drying out until the sun returns sometime this spring.

Haha... I was experimenting with this as well! It worked better when I used club soda and carpet cleaner with my brushes than just tap water. I didn't have enough club soda and it was late at night so I didn't persist, but I might buy a cheap bottle on my way home and get it extra clean...

I like the C5 chassis Audis, and I even like that the S6 as a wagon (Avant in Audi speak), but I can appreciate that, that is not everyone's cup of tea. The builder of this car decided he not only wanted a sedan C5 S6 sedan, but that he also wanted it to have a manual.
I like the understated looks of the C5, but it does benefit from a few cosmetics offered by Audi as well. In

This is a testament to making your car your OWN. I get asked why I didn't buy a Challenger since I wanted a six speed over the Charger. I like the Charger SRT and it was not manufactured with that option so, I bought one and currently in the process of getting a TR6060 from a guy in Washington out of a wrecked Challenger so there won't be much complications to make my Charger how I wanted it from the factory.

Those 4.2l v8's sound sooooooo damn good with an exhaust. I was visiting a friend at his college a few years ago and saw this bright yellow B6 S4 go driving by. The sound that thing made was downright vulgar and eargasm inducing.

I thought I would share some information track driving this week. Specifically, I am going to recommend a method of how to get more advice and tips from one of the most trusted names in Racing, Ross Bentley. First get his books, Speed Secrets, they're fantastic. Start with the first, it has a lot of life in it but there are more detailed books for when you progress.
Ross Bentley additionally offers books for Autocross and Professional racing.

I'll have to gives those a read sometime. I've always been curious about what it takes to be competitive as a racing driver and I've never had the opportunity to get on track. I've watched a few of the "The Racing Line" series of videos with Randy Probst but I don't think they go very in depth. I just signed up for the weekly email so I'll have to see how that goes. Maybe I'll try some tricks out in Gran Turismo and see how that goes.

He does seem to have a pretty great personality. Humorous but also very informative. He really knows how to deliver the information in an entertaining way that keeps you interested. He's a pretty awesome car guy too.

Thanks for sharing man! While I'm back to school, I'll have to read books just like that one to keep my track itch scratched. I've never read a driving book like that but I'm really curious to see what all it would cover. I know my car can go WAY faster than I can drive it

Here it is and cotton candy pink, one ugly Lamborghini Espada. Not that I find any Espada particularly attractive. What's cool about them is 12 cylinders and a back seat, but I think that's where it stops. It looks like a less well proportioned Maserati Montreal to me. And that color...
The tail doesn't flatter either. It's reared looks oversized and a bit bread truck like to me. Luckily the pink color does everything for this style choice. And

Ferrucio had plucked a few times out there, but who hasn't? I read a while back that Ferrari gave this dude shit about how he painted his car and emblems ect. It also seems like you spend as much time on bring a trailer as I do on speedhunters and engineswapdepot.com

Haha... I get the emails and watch for cars I don't recognize or haven't seen in a while. They have the most knowledgable people talking all of the time, it's fun. I chime in about B5 S4s sometimes when they go on the block.

engineswapdepot.com has a plethora of not just swaps but crazy ass builds to go with them. some are things that Matt Farah has driven, others are from speedhunters and people from other countries with down gasoline fueling their hearts. I have been reading stuff from that site and speedhunters since 2009 soooo yeh.....

I decided that since I was commenting on Saabs on Wilson's post, https://wheelwell.com/posts/6c24/i-decided-to-get-creative-to-see-about-removing-my-fuel-pump and was reading about Saabs on Bring a Trailer, https://bringatrailer.com/2018/01/12/why-we-love-them-saab-900/?utm_source=dailymail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-01-13 that I would right about Saabs as well.
First off they were hardly born from jets, but I thought those commercials were really cool when I was a kid. Yes, Saab did build jet engines, but other than a night time driving mode button that dimmed all non-essential lights, there really was no jet technology

If I remember correctly the "Born from jets" thing was just an advertising campaign. They did share a model name, "Viggen" (Thunderbolt in Swedish), and the Griffen name too. From what I recall a lot of Saab's issues came from failing to use "enough" common parts between models to cut down on production costs. What really gets me is that the Saab designers/engineers had to have their way, right up until the end. From what I've heard the 9-7x, which is nearly identical to the Chevy Trailblazer SS (They shared a ton of parts, the 9-7x is affectionately known as the "Trollblazer"), is a completely different driving experience to the Trailblazer SS.

They are definitely quirky and exciting cars to drive, though I'm not sure I'd actually recommend owning one. If you ever get the chance to drive a Saab, any Saab, please do it. They just feel like they want to be driven with spirit.

There's definitely a huge following for the brand though, and any issue you may encounter has more than likely been encountered many times before. From what I've seen, many in the Saab community are more than willing to share their knowledge.

I have to disagree with you on the wheels, I can't say that Saab has ever made a 3-spoke wheel that I thought looked good. But then again, I don't think any brand has.

I am one of those people who stopped watching racing back in the 1990s following the breakup of Group B Rally racing and the movement away from homologation race series. For those that don't know, homologation race series require that vehicles be production vehicles.
Homolgation once meant that special versions of cars were made so that companies like BMW could have a more competitive racer than a standard 325is. That lead to the birth of the M3, the formation

#DIY #becauseracecar I have been thinking a bit about buying an engine and building it. I want to do everything minus the machining. I don't have the time or space yet, but that might change within the next 6 months and I can't get it out of my head that I need to build an NA VW VR6 to stick in the front of my Volvo 242. So I was reading about piston rings! And I found this nice

I have been having this same idea, but I want to rebuild a rotary. I have been reading a lot about the process, but I feel I just need to get one and take it apart and see how it works. I have built a few V-8's and rebuilt a I-4, and I think building a rotary would be a cool box to check on my car guy resume. Hmmm RX8's are cheap....

I've built both, and while there's less moving parts and the rotary is on paper simpler, there are a bunch of little details that need to be minded. 6 apex seals, each with two of their own apex seal springs. 12 corner seals, each with one spring behind them. 12 side seals, each with their own spring (1 or 2 I can't remember at the moment for some reason). Side seals need to be properly clearanced, sanding them to needed length. So there's lots of little details. It's very cool though, and fascinating to work with, but the simplicity is deceptive.

Sounds amazing! I have been bitten by the rotary bug and I am researching all I can. I have seen a friend rebuild one, watched videos on it being done and read books on it, and now I want to do it myself to get a better understanding of how it all works together. And then learn to put a turbo on it and make lots of boost!!!

Well there's less moving parts in a rotary, therefore it should be easier, right? I'd like to rebuild an old V12 of some sort for some reason as well. I have no desire for a car with a V12 but I would like to take that engine apart.

"Nitrous and/or turbos don't blow up motors, people do" - David FreiburgerHe was referring to people who run high boost or nitrous shots without filing down ring gap. A lot of people really underestimate the importance of proper ring gap for application.

Most important things when building an engine:1. Take your time2. Do your research before you buy and install expensive stuff. Don't just throw parts at a core, make a plan for exactly what you want to do. 3. Take your time4. Double and triple check all measurements and clearances5. Take. Your. Time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19LVlU6AEnU
This is a 1JZ Toyta V12. If that sounds like gibberish, it's because Toyota never made a 1JZ V12. This engine builder decided simply building an engine like a normal person wasn't good enough. They needed to go and make the rest of us look bad by welding together two 1JZ engines and then turbocharging it. It sounds amazing and I am not doing it justice. Did no one tell him that Toyota already made a similar engine?

I actually don't care if people like what are comically large wheels IMO. I do however care that many of these vehicles run around on tiny OEM brakes, which in many cases were questionably adequate from day one. For example we have here a Chevy Tahoe on 30" wheels. If you squint you might make out the front rotor. My Audi sedan came with bigger rotors than that from the factory and weighs half as much! Why does

I'm all about to each his own and actually enjoy a bit of style over substance, but I personally put this style into the fender flares, camber wheels and over the top aero bin. Just not my cup of tea, aside from the potential risk.

I totally hear you. I just think about the cost of the wheels and how they would adversely affect handling and so on, which is completely not the point of these wheels. They're about style, and that's cool. My preference is just way skewed towards performance as a means to fun, way beyond what is necessary or reasonable. They're the other way around, and it's a form of expression. More power to them.

We often look forward to newer better products to make our projects, daily drivers, or otherwise specified vehicles better than new. But maybe sometimes we are looking so far ahead that we are missing some great stuff right in front of us.
I've been thinking about wheels for my 1983 Volvo 242 and there is a tendency to look towards newer wheels. Right now I am planning on running 16 inch Volvo 850 turbo twists with 25 mm

I really enjoy old Mazdas, despite them not accommodating my 6'4" frame. They were really solid, good handling, reliable, and often stylish cars. This isn't the best looker here, but this 1982 RWD, 2 door Mazda 626 is one of the last lightweight RWD offerings Mazda had.
The styling isn't over the top, but the car has a nice shape overall, IMO. I imagined it would look even better with bumpers that weren't the 1980s USA safety bumpers, so